MOBILE, Ala. (April 17) -- The roster for the 2000 Delchamps Senior Bowl was the most talented in the 51-year history of the game.

Game officials announced on Monday that more Senior Bowl players than ever before were selected in this year's National Football League draft, as a record 102 players from the 2000 game roster were chosen in the seven-round draft held this past weekend.

The record-setting total also included 14 Senior Bowl selections in the draft's prestigious first round, a figure which matches the highest first-round total ever achieved for the contest, while 34 Senior Bowlers were chosen in the first two rounds and 54 went in the first three, which was also the highest ever achieved by the game.

"Obviously, we're pleased that the fans who attended this year's Senior Bowl had the chance to see more future NFL draftees than ever before," said Senior Bowl President Steve Hale.  "We're also extremely happy for our players, many of whom used fine performances during Senior Bowl Week to put themselves in a position to enjoy tremendous success on draft day."

The game's previous one-year bests were the 93 players selected a year ago from Delchamps Senior Bowl 1999, and 14 first-rounders who were chosen in the 1998 draft.

Heading the list of Senior Bowl 2000 draftees was New Mexico linebacker Brian Urlacher. Named the Most Valuable Player for the South defense following his outstanding performance in Senior Bowl 2000, Urlacher became the ninth selection overall when he was chosen by the Chicago Bears.

Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington, the game's Overall Most Valuable Player, was selected by the New York Jets with the 18th pick overall and was the only quarterback selected in the draft's first round.

Other members of the Senior Bowl 2000 roster selected in round one were running backs Shaun Alexander of Alabama (Seattle) and Arizona's Trung Canidate (St. Louis), wide receivers Sylvester Morris of Jackson State (Kansas City) and USC's R. Jay Soward (Jacksonville), tight end Anthony Becht of West Virginia (New York Jets), and offensive lineman Stockar McDougle of Oklahoma (Detroit).

In addition to Urlacher, six other Senior Bowl defensive players were chosen in round one.   Linebackers John Abraham of South Carolina (New York Jets), Michigan State's Julian Peterson (San Francisco) and Syracuse's Keith Bulluck (Tennessee); defensive end Shaun Ellis of Tennessee (New York Jets), defensive tackle Chris Hovan of Boston College (Minnesota); and defensive back Rashard Anderson of Jackson State (Carolina).

"Part of our mission here at the Senior Bowl is to provide a forum which enables the nation's top players to display their talents and sell themselves as individuals to the decision makers of the National Football League, and to allow those same decision makers the one-of-a-kind opportunity to see and get to know those top players within a football environment," said Hale. "This year's draft numbers show that the Senior Bowl continues to fulfill this goal -- both to the players, as well as to the 31 NFL teams."

Twenty Senior Bowlers were chosen in round two: offensive linemen Travis Claridge, Chad Clifton, Adrian Klemm, Todd Wade and Bobby Williams; wide receivers Dennis Northcutt, Todd Pinkston and Bobby Williams; defensive linemen Darren Howard, Cornelius Griffin and Fred Robbins; linebackers Ian Gold, Raynoch Thompson, Barrett Green and Marcus Washington; and defensive backs Mike Brown, Kenoy Kennedy, Jason Webster, Dwayne Goodrich and William Bartee.

Round three feature 20 more Senior Bowlers to give the contest 54 selections in the first three rounds. Other round-by-round totals included 19 Senior Bowlers in round four, 12 in round five, 12 more in round six and five Senior Bowl players were chosen in round seven.

Each of the 31 National Football League teams drafted at least one Senior Bowl 2000 player, with the Pittsburgh Steelers making the most Senior Bowl selections with six and the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans each drafting five Senior Bowl players.

Also, both of the NFL teams who served as coaching staffs for Senior Bowl 2000 -- Kansas City and Carolina -- drafted at least one player that they coached at the Senior Bowl.   The Chiefs, who coached the Senior Bowl's South squad, chose Jackson State's Morris with their first round pick, and added two members of the Senior Bowl's North team in later rounds -- Oklahoma's William Bartee in round two and Boston College's Darnell Alford in round six.

The Carolina Panthers chose two members of its Senior Bowl North team -- Indiana (Pa.)'s Leander Jordan in round three and Washington's Lester Towns in round seven, and also drafted two members of the South team in first round selection Anderson of Jackson State and Auburn's Jeno James in round six.

Delchamps Senior Bowl 2000 also featured the first four quarterbacks selected in the draft -- Pennington, Hofstra's Giovanni Carmazzi and Louisville's Chris Redman in round three and Tennessee's Tee Martin in round five. The game's other two signal callers -- Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay and Heisman Trophy runner-up Joe Hamilton of Georgia Tech -- were both selected in round seven, to give the game six drafted quarterbacks in a year when only 12 quarterbacks were selected overall.

The next showcase of top NFL draft prospects is scheduled for Delchamps Senior Bowl 2001, set for Saturday, January 20, in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 334-432-4109.